Ireland-bound

Another day in London almost gone.  How time has flown.  Today we Tubed-it to the Tower of London to hang out with Beefeaters and ogle the Crown Jewels.  If any of y'all are thinking of coming here for such a sightseeing trip, take the advice of our pal Rick Steves and head directly for the Crown Jewels first.  We got right in, but 2 hours later, the line was hours long.  I'm quite sure that even the Bedazzler-addicted have never seen quite so much sparkly bling as is housed in that place.  We took the tour with our appointed Beefeater, which was bloody, funny, and entertaining for adults. Scarlett wasn't a fan of standing still in a mob of 200 people, and Sierra kept saying, "Tell my WHY you think this is funny."  No, beheadings are not particularly humorous, but the way that he told the stories of those who lost their heads, often was.  The moral of the story - don't cross a medieval king of England.  Period.

After a quick stop to see Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey closer-up (from the outside), we returned to our hotel to repack our things and to catch a bus north.  Tomorrow morning, about the time y'all are going to bed, we'll be waking up to get on a plane bound for Cork, Ireland.  Since we're flying out of a smaller, more remote airport, we opted to stay overnight nearer to the airport.  Won't make 3:15 a.m feel much better, but it will reduce our travel anxieties a bit.

Erik and I went to Ireland about 11 years ago.  I think it's still the favorite place we've ever been.  It's just so green and lovely and peaceful.  We're hanging around the Irish countryside, avoiding the hustle and bustle of the big cities, because that's what we've found to be the most refreshing.  We'll watch Erik get acclimated to driving on the wrong side of the road (and car) again, we'll see lots of sheep, and we'll just breathe in the beauty of SW Ireland.  It'll be an entirely different trip with our daughters along, but I feel certain that they'll enjoy more space to run and play.  And Sierra needs to practice her Irish accent, since she feels she's mastered her British accent.  :)

As an aside - the other day, Sierra turned on some BBC station, and The Smurfs were on.  She watched the show for at least 5 minutes, and when I said, "Are you really watching The Smurfs in German?" she said, "No.  I don't think so.  Wait...well, maybe."  I'll just chalk it up to being tired.  Or maybe she innately understands Deutsch.

I'm so looking forward to being in the country where our souls have felt at rest before, with 2 kids who might not give us rest, but they do give us joy.